From the Editor
To advance just about any discipline, we follow a scholarly approach. We study what has been done, look for opportunities to use empirical work completed by others, and then make adjustments according to current demands. This “system” seems to work in essentially every discipline within higher education. As teaching professionals, we need to - and do, whether we realize it or not! - apply these processes and expertise to improve our teaching and to enhance student learning.
The idea of scholarship in teaching is not new. Ernest Boyer (1990) proposed] that instructors were engaged in not only the most traditional type of scholarship (research, or discovery), but a whole spectrum of scholarship: discovery, integration, application, and teaching itself. A decade later, Richlin (2001) recognized what he called scholarly teachers, those who consult the literature, identify areas of interest, and then apply relevant findings to guide and shape their teaching and learning, and the learning of their students. Despite this rich history, little has been done, or recognized, about scholarship in teaching beyond discovery.
The Scholarly Teacher was founded in 2014 to provide instructors with evidence-based strategies and perspectives for consideration in their classroom, as well as encouraging and celebrating the scholarship that virtually all instructors undertake on a day-to-day and year-over-year basis. After nearly a decade of publications (some with nearly 50,000 views!), we are excited to return our focus to our foundation: Boyer’s 4 Types of Scholarship. We have published, and look forward to continuing to publish, narratives; (info)graphics; individual case studies; full, multisection, semester-long, IRB-approved trials; dialogues; videos; and more. We recognize that scholarship and voices are as richly diverse as the scholars in our community. With a foundation in pedagogy and focus on the future, we look forward to many more years of scholars sharing
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The Scholarship of Discovery
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The Scholarship of Integration
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The Scholarship of Application
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The Scholarship of Teaching
We invite your comments to postings to further and deepen our conversations. We also encourage readers to submit ideas or requests for future blog posts so that we can continue to learn from each other.
Read, enjoy, learn, share, and contribute.
Most importantly, live the life of a scholarly teacher.
Best,
Todd Zakrajsek, PhD
Managing Editor

